Chapter Six
Sophaya
Watery morning light breaks through the curtains. For the first time in months, there were no nightmares, no fears yanking me awake. There was only Dominic and the comforting warmth of his naked body pressed against mine.
I don’t look at him. Not yet. I want to savor the moment before I return to reality.
A shrill ring sounds from the other side of bed.
Apparently, reality is kicking in with a vengeance.
I moan into my pillow and throw an arm over my eyes as the bed shifts next to me.
I crack one eye open and look over my shoulder in time to see Dominic roll out of bed and grab his phone off the nightstand.
“Hawke.”
I stretch my arms overhead and smile as I take in the chiseled muscles of his back, the strong curves of his rear and the thickness of his thighs. I know he said one night. But perhaps I can convince him to indulge one last time before breakfast arrives.
“What?” Dominic barks.
The change in the atmosphere is instant, a palpable feeling that chills the room.
“Understood.” He hangs up.
I sit up, my skin cool, the back of my neck prickling with warning. When he turns back to me, I feel the severing of the connection between us as if someone stabbed me in the chest.
“They caught the stalker.”
Relief hits me, makes my limbs heavy as I brush strands of hair out of my face.
It’s over. The nightmare I’ve been living for the past few months is over.
No more looking over my shoulder, no more falling asleep wondering if tonight will be the night he sneaks past security and breaks into my room. “Where?”
“Infiltrating the palace.”
My hands fist in the sheets. “Is my family okay?”
I may not like my parents, but they’re my family. The thought of them being subjugated to whatever punishment my stalker had reserved for me is terrifying.
Dominic’s face softens. “Yes. He was caught in the garden.”
My breath rushes out. “Thank you.”
The gentleness vanishes. He nods curtly before he reaches down and grabs his shirt off the floor, shoving his arms into the sleeves with an almost angry energy. The edges of his shirt gape, leaving his muscled chest on display.
Right. Because I ripped his tuxedo shirt open like a wild woman.
“Dominic?”
“There was also a photo.”
I frown, confused. “One the stalker took?”
“No. Of us.”
I still. My head snaps around to the curtained windows as fear pushes into my throat. “Doing what?”
“On the balcony having dinner.”
I roll to the other side and grab my phone off the nightstand.
I type in my name and Dominic’s along with Venice.
In a moment several links pop up. The first one features a dark, grainy photo taken at a distance.
My back is to the camera, my head turned just enough that my profile is barely visible.
Dominic’s face is more prominent, but he’s seated on the other side of the table.
“The sirens last night.” I look back at Dominic. “I bet the police were chasing off a photographer.” I glance back down at the photo. “Not ideal, but it could be worse.”
“Not ideal?” My head snaps up at Dominic’s harsh tone. His eyes are hard, his jaw tense. “My name and my photo are being circulated. The article is speculating we have a romance.”
He spits out the last word like its poison. I barely stop myself from flinching.
“It’s a rumor, Dominic. That’s it. Even the headlines aren’t that bad. ‘Princess has private dinner with bodyguard.’”
He glares at the rumpled side of the bed where he slept. “We made it more than a rumor last night. What if the truth comes out?”
“No one will know. I’m certainly not going to tell.”
He scrubs a hand over his face. “This might be just another day for you, but it’s a first for me.” He looks away, grabs his pants off the floor and pulls them on. “I’ve never crossed a line with a client.”
Guilt hits hard and fast. I was the one who stopped him from leaving last night. Who pushed for us to jump over the line he clearly drew more than once. “Dominic—”
“This was a mistake.”
His words freeze me in place. Almost the exact same words Louis said at the Christmas party last year. The media had been clamoring for pictures of me and anyone close to me, including Louis.
The day he’d broken up with me, he’d pulled me behind the towering Christmas tree, taken my hands in his.
I’d thought he was going to propose. We may not have had a grand love affair, but there was true affection.
I liked that there were no surprises, no emotional roller coasters like the ones my parents rode every time they were behind closed doors together.
The possibility of having a marriage built on mutual respect and tenderness had been one of the few bright spots in my life at the time.
I can’t do this, Sophaya. This, us…our relationship was a mistake.
Emotion tightens in my throat as Dominic pulls on his tuxedo jacket. It never fails. I’m always good enough until I’m not, like with Louis. Or vice versa; I’m never wanted until I can be of use, like with my parents.
But this pain is different. Deeper, sharper.
No matter how incredible last night was, it’s not worth this, a pain made ten times worse by those brief hours of intimacy.
Not just exploring each other’s bodies, but getting to know Dominic, learning more about the man he truly is. A man I was starting to like a lot.
Steady.
I mentally grab onto my emotions, wrap my arms around them and yank them back, bury them deep inside me until I feel nothing but blissful emptiness. The passionate lover is gone, replaced by the cool, detached princess he despised in the months leading up to this humiliating morning.
I toss back the sheets and stand, completely naked and uncaring.
“Agreed.” I walk to the closet, open the door and reach inside, grabbing a fluffy white robe.
Even though I want to wrap it around myself like a shield, I take my time sliding my arms inside the sleeves, tying off the belt.
“Fortunately, since my stalker has been caught, we don’t need to see each other again.
” I move back to the bed and pick my leggings off the floor.
The same leggings he stripped off me in a frenzy.
“I’ll see you back to Siravelle.”
I look at Dominic, give him a tiny royal smile. “Not necessary, Mr. Hawke. You were hired because of my stalker. He’s in custody. Our contract is officially ended.”
Thunder flashes in his eyes. “That’s not how I work. I see my jobs through to the end, and that includes escorting you safely back to Siravelle.”
Regret twines through me. I wish we could have ended on a better note. Wish we could have shared one last sweet kiss before saying our goodbyes.
But maybe this is better. No questions about what might have been.
“When you’re in charge, you can do what you want. But in this scenario, I am your client. Your boss,” I add, “if you will.”
His eyes glint. “I’m my own boss. Your Highness.” He bites out my title as if he’d prefer to bite my head off.
“Acknowledged.” I turn and walk out of the bedroom.
A moment later I hear his footsteps thudding behind me.
I walk to the door with my head held high, turn and wait until he’s a few feet away from me.
“However, as stated on page three of the contract your firm provided, I may terminate our arrangement at any time.” I open the door. “Consider it terminated, Mr. Hawke.”
Dominic stares at me. In that moment, I’m pretty sure he hates me.
I want to crumple, want to ask him to please not let things end like this, to forgive me for pushing him into something he obviously regrets.
But I don’t. He had just as much of a choice as I did. If he wants to act like a jerk to deal with his shame, that’s his problem, not mine.
Finally, he looks away. He stalks out the door without a backward glance.
I close the door quietly behind him. Tears well up, thick and hot, but I keep them contained. I’m not going to shed a single tear over the man who managed to take me to the highest peak and drag me down to the lowest low in a matter of hours.
Especially since I’ll never see the damned man ever again.